Vietspices Search

Thursday, May 4, 2017

A Japanese housewife is what my friend Akiko described me as when I was in Japan a month ago :-). I spent the first and last few days in Tokyo sightseeing, and of course tasting delicious food, but the majority of my time in Minamiashiga was spent grocery shopping, cooking and eating authentic Japanese food with my host family, their neighbor, and friends. I had an unforgettable time experiencing the life of a local and seizing the opportunity to learn the culture, custom, and culinary delights. I didn't leave, however, without introducing them to a few Vietnamese culinary flavors and teaching them how to cook a few of our favorite dishes. Despite the language barrier, we managed to understand one another through broken English, sign language and Google translator. What would we do without Google?

I posted most of my trip photos on my facebook page, but here are some pictures of food, shopping, and gathering when I was in Minamiashiga.

Phở - Vietnamese beef noodle soup

steaming rice cake for phở noodle

teaching these ladies how to make pork buns

bánh xèo - savory crispy crepe

introducing chè trôi nước - sweet mung bean ball

I am learning how to cook miso soup

oden - one of my favorite Japanese food

enjoying roasted sweet yam

One of the treasures I brought back was a recipe for oyster and shirako which I'd learn by observing Yuko's cooking. Now shirako is quite rare as it's the milt or sperm sacs of male cods. (Aren't you hungry now? Stay focus here). She pan-fried the oysters and the exotic shirako, then she cooked anchovy filet, smashed it into a paste and poured it over the fried oysters and shirako. It was mouthwatering watching her cook up this dish. I thought how my husband would really enjoy this dish with a beer or better yet some premium sake.

When I returned home, I tried to find shirako but it was impossible. I even attempted to text a head chef at a well-known restaurant in town to ask him to check with his vendor for shirako, but to no avail. When pan-frying shirako, it needs to be coated with flour to protect its delicate and tender texture. The outside is crisps and golden brown while the inside is marvelously soft, and creamy - kinda like pork brain - which I love to eat it when I was a little kid. Little did I know how dangerous that could have been.

shirako

So, with this recipe, there's only oysters. If you're lucky enough to find shirako, you can prepare it the same way as oysters. As exotic as this sounds, the flavor is in the anchovy.

Remove the oysters from the jar and let drain. Wrap the oysters in paper towel to draw out the excess fluid. Sprinkle oysters with salt, and toss gently in the flour.

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Pan-Frying Oysters

Warm the pan, add oil and butter on medium-high heat. Place the oysters in the butter and cook for about a minute until the bottom of the oysters are golden brown, gently turn them over and cook until golden brown. Don't cook oysters too long as they will get dried out and tough. Remove the fried oysters and let drain on a paper towel.

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Preparing Anchovy Fillet Sauce

In a small pan, cook olive oil and garlic over medium heat until fragrant, without letting it brown. Stir in the anchovy, and cook until anchovies are broken down, then turn off the heat.

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About Me

My husband and I have two lovely daughters. I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to stay at home to raise my daughters and experiment with food.
I was probably in love with food from my mother’s womb, but didn’t realize it until I found myself spending every cent of my allowance on snacks and frequently begging my maid to let me help out in the kitchen. The desire to cook was intense. I snuck into the kitchen when my maid was asleep and stole rice and matchsticks so my friend and I could cook it in our toy clay pot. I even bought ingredients from the market to make frozen banana dessert topped with shredded coconut and roasted peanuts and sold them to the neighborhood kids.
These fond memories eventually led to my Vietspices blog - born in October 2010- with the purpose of making memories with my girls and sharing our recipes, but ultimately creating a foundation for charity. I envision something that wound extend beyond my daily bread to encompass the basics of daily living – food, clothing, shelter - for those less fortunate. And this gave birth to The Spices of Life (Hương Vị Cuộc Sống) Foundation. It is under construction as I work out the logistics. Please stay tuned!